In addition to financing climate-smart infrastructure projects directly, we also support local financial institutions active in the sustainable energy market. IFC’s customized lending and advisory services packages help these clients build profitable new lines of business, leveraging domestic resources that would otherwise be unavailable for clean energy financing. Together, this combination helps increase the private sector’s role as part of the World Bank Group's strategy for the fight against climate change.

Chile: New Power Plants

Long dependent on fossil fuels, Chile is fast increasing its use of renewable energy.

To support this critical transition, IFC has invested more than $450 million in privately sponsored Chilean hydro, wind, and solar projects. Together they offset 1.7 million tons of CO2 emissions—roughly equivalent to taking 200,000 cars off the road.

The projects include the largest solar photovoltaic power plant in Latin America: the SunEdison-owned Amanecer solar project in Chile’s Atacama Desert. IFC provided $65 million of the project’s debt, with the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation. (OPIC) providing a $147.5 million parallel loan and Rabobank of the Netherlands providing a local Chilean Peso VAT facility worth $45 million.

Armenia: A Local Bank Steps Up

In Armenia, we take a different, complementary approach, working with a local financial institution: Byblos Bank Armenia.

Thanks to our client bank’s financing, Ara Boyadjian and his family have recently moved into a new, climate-friendly home on the outskirts of capital city Yerevan.

The home’s energy-efficient insulation and other cost-saving measures bring the family’s utility bills down, contributing to a slowing of greenhouse gas emissions by reducing power demand.

“By promoting energy efficiency and energy-efficient lending products, we can help homeowners in Armenia reduce their annual energy bills, lead more environmentally-friendly lifestyles, and improve the comfort and safety of their homes,” said Byblos Bank Armenia CEO Ararat Ghukasyan. “This is the first funding of this nature in Armenia and shows that energy efficiency is important to both Byblos Bank Armenia and our clients.”

Over the past eight years, IFC has invested more than $11 billion in renewable energy and other climate-smart solutions for emerging markets like Chile, Armenia, and many others. Our work in this area helps illustrate the private sector opportunities that will continue to grow as the world moves to a greener, low-carbon growth path.